Entertainment Made By North Korea
April 28, 2024 3:43 PM Subscribe
Entertainment Made By North Korea [5h30m] is an overview of... entertainment made by North Korea. It begins well before the founding of the country to give the cultural background, and then gets into post-Korean War entertainment. It's an interesting history lesson combined with a fascinating glimpse into a world not seen much outside it's own borders.
Previously from the same YouTuber.
Previously from the same YouTuber.
So I guess this video took the creator a full year to make? It's pretty thorough. The length alone implies a lot of work and research. I'm a bit stunned. I hope Paper Will is okay after all this.
posted by hippybear at 6:38 PM on April 28
posted by hippybear at 6:38 PM on April 28
Whoa, five and a half hours but this sounds fascinating
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:39 PM on April 28 [1 favorite]
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:39 PM on April 28 [1 favorite]
Anyone know for sure?
Wikipedia seems fairly certain about the answer.
posted by hippybear at 6:43 PM on April 28 [1 favorite]
Wikipedia seems fairly certain about the answer.
posted by hippybear at 6:43 PM on April 28 [1 favorite]
You'd think the censorship, fear, and repression would be utter poison to the process.
People in animation have to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when they're absolutely miserable. (worked in TV animation since the 80s, including supervisory stints in S. Korea)
posted by brachiopod at 7:29 PM on April 28 [3 favorites]
People in animation have to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when they're absolutely miserable. (worked in TV animation since the 80s, including supervisory stints in S. Korea)
posted by brachiopod at 7:29 PM on April 28 [3 favorites]
So around the 4 hour mark of this, they get into SEK animation and what the video states is that they were just directly hired, not secretly sub-contracted by South Korean studios.
posted by hippybear at 8:53 PM on April 28
posted by hippybear at 8:53 PM on April 28
Foreign words are funny! I'm sure there are some interesting nuggets of info, but I was instantly turned off by the "I'm a cartoon piece of paper" framing as well as "I took 18 months to make this, and zero months to figure out if I'm pronouncing Korean words correctly."
posted by emelenjr at 9:17 PM on April 28 [6 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 9:17 PM on April 28 [6 favorites]
Documents found on a North Korean server suggest US studios may have unknowingly outsourced animation work
Guy Delisle did a graphic novel about his time working in a North Korean animation studio.
It's funny, horrifying and well worth a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang:_A_Journey_in_North_Korea
posted by Kiwi at 4:59 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
Guy Delisle did a graphic novel about his time working in a North Korean animation studio.
It's funny, horrifying and well worth a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang:_A_Journey_in_North_Korea
posted by Kiwi at 4:59 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
"Teen Guerilla.Soldiers" seems like North Korea might have an IP lawsuit with "Red Dawn" over the lucrative "beloved movie about child soldiers" cinematic universe.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:22 AM on April 29
posted by AlSweigart at 5:22 AM on April 29
Synchronicity! I just re-watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode about Collision in Korea, perhaps the strangest, most surreal event in history, a pro-wrestling peace festival in Pyongyang arranged by Japanese wrestler/politician Antonio Inoki with wrestlers from now-defunct WCW. It still holds the record for biggest audience ever at a pro-wrestling event -- although that's because attendance was mandatory and no one in the audience knew what the hell they were watching.
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:05 AM on April 29
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:05 AM on April 29
Also relevant: Morton Traavik's 2016 film Liberation Day, documenting Laibach's 2015 visit to (and concert) in Pyongyang - some intriguing glimpses into the NK culture industry.
posted by remembrancer at 9:20 AM on April 29
posted by remembrancer at 9:20 AM on April 29
Anyone know for sure?
Wikipedia seems fairly certain about the answer.
No it doesn’t?
posted by bq at 11:35 AM on April 29
Wikipedia seems fairly certain about the answer.
No it doesn’t?
posted by bq at 11:35 AM on April 29
Was Hyon Song-wol killed by Kim? Anyone know for sure?
Wikipedia seems to indicate that she's still alive?
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:00 PM on April 29
Wikipedia seems to indicate that she's still alive?
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:00 PM on April 29
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South Korean studios have long been involved with popular US animated shows, including The Simpsons, Family Guy, SpongeBob, and Rick and Morty, I assume because SK studios are lower-cost and have a faster turnaround time. It's incredible that it's still not enough for some companies and they feel fine to illicitly hop the border to a brutal dictatorship.
As for the NK workers, I can't imagine trying to do anything creative under those conditions, let alone something as whimsical as cartoons. You'd think the censorship, fear, and repression would be utter poison to the process.
posted by Rhaomi at 4:23 PM on April 28